HUMAN RIGHTS WALK
Event highlights importance of empathy, inalienable rights
The cold Saturday-morning temps quickly warmed to greet walkers yesterday as they stepped out for the seventh Annual Human Rights Walk and Festival staged at The Woodlands’ Town Green Park. The event is the brainchild of Demme Durrett, a John Cooper alumna, Columbia University college student and former Girl Scout who was first inspired to host the walk as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award.
The cold Saturdaymorning temps quickly warmed to greet walkers yesterday as they stepped out for the seventh Annual Human Rights Walk and Festival staged at The Woodlands’ Town Green Park.
The event is the brainchild of Demme Durrett, a John Cooper alumna, Columbia University college student and former Girl Scout who was first inspired to host the walk as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award when she was a freshman in high school. Troubled by Houston’s sad statistic as one of the nation’s top cities for human trafficking, Durrett organized the Human Rights Walk to bring awareness to what she considers to be universal rights.
“I thought a large-scale event like this would be beneficial as it both brought awareness to the plight of human rights violations, like human trafficking, and present human rights education as a tool,” she said. “I want our society to based upon empathy, mutual understanding and respect. The way to do this is through universal human rights education.”
Durrett explained that, if people are aware of their rights they are more likely to report violations to the proper authorities. She said this is particularly important in a diverse area like Greater Houston.
“The simple act of knowing that everyone has these rights is vital in our increasingly interconnected world,” she said. “Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, and human rights are essential to ensuring that everyone is treated fairly.”
To spread the message, the event featured several banners which were erected along the walking trail. The banners touted universal rights such as privacy, trial, copyright, nationality, education, work, food, shelter, travel and assembly among others.
There were also many organizations in attendance such as Amnesty International, Cavalier Choir, Montgomery County Democratic Party, Hope Beyond Bridges, Citizens Commission on Human Rights and The Woodlands Arts Council.
Among those was Annika Gallaway, a 17-yearold junior at The Woodlands High School. Like Durrett, Gallaway is a long-time Girl Scout with the San Jacinto chapter and is actively pursuing her Gold Award, the highest recognition the group offers.
To meet that goal, she established the Teen Advocacy Project, also called TAP. The group, which is geared toward high school students, recently hosted 10 teenagers at its first meeting and heard from a representative with the local American Civil Liberties Union.
With one meeting under her belt, Gallaway now has plans to hold a January meeting with a representative from PFLAG, a nationwide group of nearly 400 chapters dedicated to “uniting families and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.”
Gallaway, who met Durrett last year, said she was inspired by her to promote and educate young people about advocacy and activism based on what is important to them.
“When I met her I was really inspired, and I realized that I could really do this,” Gallaway said of creating TAP.
Now that Gallaway’s group is up and running, she plans to foster its growth throughout the rest of the school year before passing the reins as she enters her senior year and begins preparing for college.
Durrett is also looking to the future. She has plans to pursue a law degree and is focused on how she wants to spend her professional life.
“I want a career that allows me to be someone who influences people’s lives for the better,” Durrett said. “I’m planning to go to law school following graduation and ultimately aim to serve our country via the State Department or at the United Nations.”
For now, however, she keeps busy with her studies, promoting human rights awareness at Columbia and working with U.S.-based Venezuelans to collect food for the Human Rights Day Celebration in that country.
Both Durrett’s school work and her advocacy efforts keep her focused on her goal and the direction she wants to take in her life.
“I want to be able to walk into a classroom of third graders and see that they understand and can apply the basic idea of human rights that we are all born equal and free,” she said.